BaniEstimations Software

1. MAIN MENU:
Select by clicking any component in red cells.

2. INTRODUCTION:
Select any section under the introduction component. Make sure you carefully read our Terms and Conditions, and our License Agreement Terms before going ahead to use the software.

3. MARKET DATA:
a. Click on MARKET DATA
b. Select the yellow cell that contains the currency symbol.
c. Type or visit “Symbols” in “Insert” to insert the new currency symbol there.
d. Use dropdown list to select cement grades for building and heavy infrastructural works.
e. Select either Material Prices, Labour Charges or Plant-Hiring Rates
f. Use the Basic Price, Basic Labour Charge and Basic Hiring Rate columns to enter prices of Materials, Labour Charges and Plant-Hiring Rates based on your market location.
g. All other white cells within the tables are editable.

4. ESTIMATIONS
How to Use:
1. Review the rate build-up processes.
2. Edit factors to meet specific standards, if necessary.
3. Adjust Net Unit Rates (optional): Modify values in white cells to determine preferred rates (no password required). Choose from options in grey cells, if necessary.

5. UNIT RATES
How to Use:
a. Click on UNIT RATES and select any work section under it.
b. Use the Profit & Overheads cell to adjust a Markup either for all or for individual work items.
c. Link the All-In Rates, Material Rates, Labour Rates or Plant Rates to your ready-to-price BOQs.
d. Or Use the All-In Rates, Material Rates, Labour Rates or Plant Rates to price for any construction work or tender documents.

6. COST ANALYSIS
Click on COST ANALYSIS and select Cost Components or Rate Components.
How to Use:
a. Cost Components:
i. Select any work section, say concrete works
ii. Choose a specified concrete work item and enter your nominal/bill quantity in the white cell at the quantity column.
iii. It gives you the cost breakdowns of various quantities in terms of material cost, labour cost and plant cost and their respective percentages.

b. Rate Components:
i. Select any work section, say concrete works
ii. Choose a specified concrete work item and enter your All-In Rate in the white cell at the All-In Rate column. Enter the Profit & Overheads or Markup percentage if any, that was used in building the rate.
iii. It gives you the proportionate supposed breakdown of the rate in terms of material rate, labour rate and plant rate.

7. EXTRACTIONS
Click on EXTRACTIONS and select Commercial Quantities or Nominal Quantities.
How to Use:
a. Commercial Extractions: Select Work Items or Bills Of Quantities
i. Work Items:
• Select any work category, say concrete works.
• Choose a specified concrete work item and enter your nominal/bill quantity in the white cell at the quantity column.
• It will extract the bags of cement, trips of sand and aggregates, labour and plant days required for a specified quantity of concrete. It tells you the actual quantities or resources you need to buy or use for an item of work.
ii. Bills Of Quantities:
• Select and feed in all quantities from your Bills of Quantities into only the sections you want to extract martials in accordance with your bill. The Work sections are Substructure, Ground Floor, First Floor up to Sixth Floor, External Works, and Road Works. Make sure that sections not in the scope of your bill are cleared or not entered.
• It extracts automatically and gives a material budget for each of the selected work sections.
• Then select “General Summary” to get a summarized materials budget for all the work sections selected.

b. Nominal Extractions:
i. Select any work section, say concrete works.
ii. Choose a specified concrete work item and enter your commercial quantity say bags of cement, trips of sand and aggregates in the white cell at the quantity column.
iii. It will extract the nominal quantity as in cubic of concrete each resource can produce. It helps you to determine whether each resource available will be enough to complete a work item.

8. BILLS OF QUANTITIES (BOQs)

Step-by-step guide on how to use this component
Step 1: Launch and Set Up the Project
1. Launch the BOQs component and access the introduction page.
2. Enter project details, including:
– Date
– Project title
– Client
– Consultant
– Contractor
3. Enter your personal information.
4. Click "Proceed" to launch the Specifications Form.

Step 2: Master and Fill the Specifications Form
1. Get Familiar with the Form Structure: Take a moment to review the Specifications Form’s table structure and sections. You’ll find key specifications typically associated with Architectural and Structural drawings, such as:
– Excavation dimensions (depth, width)
– Foundation details (width, thickness, mean girth)
– Filling and concrete works
– Blockwork and more
2. Fill in the Form: Scale dimensions from your Architectural and Structural drawings and specify options in grey cells using dropdown lists for each floor level. The form is semi-automated, so succeeding areas will auto-populate with preceding dimensions.
3. Handle Non-Applicable Sections: If a section doesn’t apply to your project, leave it blank or indicate “excluded” or “No” to ensure accuracy.

Step 3: Generate Files
1. Upon completion of filling the Specifications Form, the following files are generated:
– Complete Take-Off
– Bills Of Quantities (All-In Bill, Materials Bill, Labour Bill, Plant & Logistics Bill)
– Project Management Files (Materials Schedule/Budget, Programme of Works and Cash Flow Analysis)
2. Review the Total Estimated Cost of Project displayed at the top of the Specifications Form and utilize the mini tables for analysis.

Step 4: Utilize Mini Tables for Analysis
1. Use the Cost Adjustments mini table to adjust estimated costs.
2. Use the Cost Components mini table to visualize cost components.
3. Use the Cost Per Floor Area mini table to estimate costs for similar works.
4. Review the Estimated Project Budget and Estimated Project Duration.

Step 5: Access and Manage Generated Files
1. Click on “Take-Off” to load the complete Take-Off.
2. Click on “BOQs” to load the Bills Of Quantities and switch between bills.
3. Access a blank bill for tendering process if needed by clicking on “Unpriced” at each generated BOQs sheet.
4. Manage, export, or share bills/files. it’s highly recommended to copy BOQs to the “Reserve Sheet” within the application before making changes. This allows you to:
– Edit and save the bill without altering the original
– Export the updated bill to an external sheet for distribution
– Save time by avoiding the need to recreate the original bill from scratch for future redistributions.

Step 6: Access Project Management Files
1. Click on "Project Management" to load Materials Schedule/Budget, Programme of Works and Method Statement for the works.
2. Review the automated materials budget or schedule, scheduled Programme of Works, Method Statement and Cash Flow Analysis.

Step 7: Review and Refine
1. Review the generated files for accuracy and completeness.
2. Refine and adjust estimates/bills, schedules, and programmes as needed.

Step 8: Export and Distribute Files
1. Follow the Distribution Guide: Refer to the file’s distribution guide on each BOQs page to export or copy and paste files for external distribution.
2. Distribute Additional Files: Use the same guide to distribute any other relevant files that need to be shared.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.1 Materials Budgets/ Schedules

Step-by-step guide on how to use this component
Step 1: Project Setup
1. Enter the project title in the Mini Table heading.
2. Specify project parameters in the Mini Table:

1. Tipper Truck Capacity
2. General Formwork Utilization Rate
3. U-Drain Formwork Utilization Rate

3. Make selections using the Mini Table dropdown lists:

1. Self-moulding Sandcrete Blocks? (Yes/No)
2. Self-moulding Concrete Blocks? (Yes/No)
3. Pre-mix for Major Concrete Works? (Yes/No)
4. Pre-mix for Minor Concrete Works? (Yes/No)
5. Generate Material Schedule or Material Budget?

4. Customize floor level names using the Rename feature.

Step 2: Quantity Uploads
1. Click on each floor level/section to open the template.
2. Upload quantities to the given template for each floor level/section.

Step 3: Grouping and Ungrouping Sections
1. Use the outliners (+ & -) to group and ungroup sections:
– Section 1: Upload section
– Section 2: Summary section

Step 4: Summary
1. Review the summary section at the bottom of each template, which extracts commercial materials from the uploaded quantities.
2. Delete materials not required or with zero quantities.

Step 5: Grand Summary
1. Review the grand summary section, which totals the summaries from all sections.
2. Use the grand summary to manage your project materials schedule or budget.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.2 Programme Of Works

Step-by-step guide on how to use the BaniEstimations Programme of Works component:
Step 1: Initialize Project Settings
1. Open the tool and go to Intro: First page
2. Specify public holidays and non-working days within the project duration.
2. Use the Workday Inclusions dropdown list to determine whether Saturdays, Sundays, or both should be considered working days.

Step 2: Uncheck Yet To Start Activities
1. Go to Column D: Check (✔).
2. For each completed activity, make sure the checkbox is not checked. Use it later to strike through completed task by checking the box.

Step 3: Define Activity Durations
1. Go to Column G: Duration (days).
2. Enter the duration in days for each activity.

Step 4: Establish Start Times
1. Go to Column H: Start Date.
2. Enter the start time or date for each activity.

Step 5: Define Preceding Dependencies
1. Go to Column J: Predecessors.
2. Enter the item numbers of preceding activities that need to be completed before the current activity can start.

Step 6: Define Succeeding Dependencies
1. Go to Column K: Successors.
2. Enter the item numbers of succeeding activities that depend on the current activity.

Step 7: Determine Gang Requirements
1. Go to Column O: Gang.
2. Enter the number of gangs required for each activity.

Step 8: Enter Planned Budget
1. Go to Column T: Planned Value.
2. Enter the planned budget for each activity.

Step 9: Track Actual Costs
1. Go to Column U: Actual Cost.
2. Enter the actual costs incurred for each activity.

Step 10: Update Progress
1. Go to Column Y: Progress.
2. Enter the progress percentage for each activity.

Step 11: Monitor Project Timeline
1. Go to Column V, W, X, & Z: Project Timeline Tracking.
2. View countdown to start for each activity.
3. Track project status indicators and progress tracker for activity status updates.

Step 12: Analyze Performance:
1. Go to Dashboard.
2. Review EVM data tables and performance analysis.
2. Use visualizations to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions.

Step 13: Review and Refine
1. Regularly review the project schedule and progress.
2. Refine and update the schedule as needed to ensure project timelines and budgets are met.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.3 Financial Management
9.3.1 Cash Flow Forecasting

Step-by-step guide on how to use the BaniEstimations Cash Flow Forecasting component:
Step 1: Introduction Setup
1. Open the BaniEstimations Cash Flow Forecasting template.
2. Input the Company/Institution name.
3. Enter the Project Title.
4. Specify the Start date (the start month of the first expected cash inflow).
5. Input the Advance Mobilization Percentage.
6. Enter the Retention Percentage deduction.
7. Specify the Retention Percentage limit.
8. Input the Defects liability period.
9. Select the Currency for the project.

Step 2: Cash Flow Data Input
1. List all the Months along the duration of the project.
2. Enter the Contract Sum.
3. State the Contingency amount, if any.
4. Input the Monthly value of Works for each month.
5. Enter Retention deductions in negative values for each month.
6. Input Advance Mobilization repayment amounts in negative values until fully paid.
7. Select the month for First half Retention release from the dropdown list.
8. Select the month for Second half Retention release from the dropdown list.
9. Enter the Contractors Cash out (projected amount to spend each month).

Note: All above are highlighted yellow indicating working areas. All other rows not highlighted are automated.

Step 3: Review and Analyze Cash Flow
1. Review the Cash Flow Forecast graph, which compares cumulative cash inflows and outflows.
2. Analyze the Net Cash Flow Forecast graph to understand the project’s net cash flow.
3. Examine the Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows Forecast graph to compare inflows and outflows.
4. Review the Cumulative value of works graph to track the project’s progress.

Step 4: Refine and Update
1. Refine your cash flow forecast by updating input data as necessary.
2. Regularly review and analyze the cash flow forecast to ensure the project stays on track.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.3 Financial Management
9.3.2 Finance Tracker

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Finance Tracker
Step 1: Personalize and Configure Your Finance Tracker
1. Go to the Intro section and set a clear monthly savings target to guide your spending and saving behavior.
2. Name your projects to use tracker
3. Allocate budgets for expenditure categories to tailor your financial planning.
4. Customize revenue and expenditure categories to accurately reflect your financial landscape.
5. Add or remove months to focus your budgeting on specific periods (up to 24 months).

Step 2: Log Revenue and Expenditure
1. Go to the Monthly Tab by clicking on a specific month and enter your monthly earnings in the Revenue and Expenditure Logging section.
2. Record your expenses easily and accurately.

Step 3: Track Expenditure, Budget and Savings Progress
1. Use the Real-time Mini Dashboard to keep track of your expenditure by each category, revenue or budget released, savings progress with live progress bars.
2. Monitor your savings goals in terms of what is saved and remaining. Adjust your spending habits accordingly.

Step 4: Analyze Financial Performance
1. Go to the Dashboard Tab to get insights into your monthly statistics and yearly totals of revenue, expenditure, and savings.
2. View the Yearly Savings Progress Bar to monitor your annual savings goals.
3. Check the Top 20 Expenses list to identify areas where you can optimize your spending.

Step 5: Review and Adjust
1. Regularly review your budget and financial performance to identify areas for improvement.
2. Adjust your budget categories, savings goals, and spending habits as needed to stay on track.
3. Use the insights gained from the Financial Tracker to make informed financial decisions and achieve your financial objectives.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.4 Project Manager’s Tools
9.4.1 Project Management

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Projects Management Component
1. Settings:
a. Define the categories of departments in the organization as well as listing actual names of all employees in the organization.

2. Clients Tab: Centralized Client Database
a. Client Information Hub: Store and manage all client databases, including contact information, in one centralized location.
b. Project and Revenue Tracking: Keep tabs on total projects and revenue associated with each client for strategic relationship building.
c. Client Communication History: Document all client communications, such as emails and meetings, to streamline information access and coordination.

3. Projects Tab: Complete Project Management
a. Project Repository: Maintain a comprehensive list of ongoing projects with critical details such as name, description, timeline, and status.
b. Resource Allocation: Efficiently allocate resources to different projects, ensuring optimum utilization and productivity.
c. Progress and Status Monitoring: Keep track of the overall progress and status of each project to ensure alignment with business objectives.

4. Tasks Tab: Project Task Centralization
a. Complete Task Listing: Centralize and list all project-related tasks including names, descriptions, timelines, and statuses.
b. Task Dependency Identification: Recognize and manage interrelated tasks effectively to prevent potential bottlenecks and delays.
c. Progress Tracking: Monitor the progress of individual tasks, ensuring on-time completion and adherence to deadlines.

5. Gantt Chat Tab: Visual Timeline Management
a. Extended Project Timelines: Visualize your project’s timeline for up to 2 years, ensuring long-term planning and tracking.
b. Interactive Timeline Adjustments: Easily adjust timelines by dragging elements, allowing for seamless rescheduling and adaptability.
c. Track Milestones and Dependencies: Identify significant milestones and monitor task dependencies to mitigate potential bottlenecks.

6. Task Tracker:
a. Efficient Task Management Hub
• Auto Task Organization: Automatically sorts tasks based on deadlines and priority levels for easy tracking.
• Task Entry with Auto-Set Dates: Effortlessly enter new tasks with automatic date setting for when they were added and deadline predictions.
• Highlight High Priority Tasks: Critical tasks are auto-highlighted to ensure they catch your attention and are not missed.
b. At-a-Glance Task Overview
• Tasks Due Today: Quickly view the tasks that are due today for immediate action.
• All Tasks Deadline Summary: See a comprehensive summary of upcoming tasks, sorted by deadline and priority.
• Task Completion Stats: Visualize your progress with graphs depicting task completion rates versus priorities.

7. Task Priority Tracker:
a. Auto-Highlight Feature: Emphasize tasks based on importance and urgency to facilitate prioritization.
b. Dropdown Menu: Select task types from a predefined list for uniform task entry.
c. Manual Task Entry: Enter tasks freely, with fields for comprehensive task details.
d. Do Now: Tasks that are urgent and important for immediate action.
e. Schedule: Important tasks that can be scheduled for later completion.
f. Delete: Eliminate tasks that do not align with current objectives.
g. Delegate: Assign urgent but less critical tasks to others.

8. Daily View Tab: Detailed Daily Task Management
a. In-Depth Daily Schedule: Analyze a detailed daily schedule with task statuses and assignments, supporting day-to-day control over project tasks.
b. Today’s Priorities at a Glance: Quickly identify and focus on the most pressing tasks scheduled for the day.
c. Employee Task Assignments: View and manage tasks assigned to specific team members, ensuring balanced workloads and accountability.

9. Monthly View Tab: Broad Task Scheduling
a. Department and Employee-Specific Overview: Get a monthly glimpse into departmental and employee-specific tasks to ensure alignment with overall goals.
b. Visual Calendar Format: View your project schedule in an intuitive calendar format, enabling easier comprehension and planning.
c. Comprehensive Monthly Task Status: Observe the status of all tasks over the month, helping in forecasting and resource allocation.

10. DASHBOARD: Holistic Project Monitoring
a. Monitor Real-time Statistics: Use the dashboard to monitor key project metrics in real-time, staying up-to-date on project status, tasks, and deadlines.
b. Analyze Visual Project Overview: Use visual aids such as charts and graphs to interpret project data, identifying trends and patterns.
c. Prioritize Tasks and Projects: Leverage the Task Priority Matrix to identify critical tasks, projects, and clients to focus on, ensuring efficient resource allocation.
d. Make Informed Decisions: Use the insights gained from the dashboard to make informed decisions about project resource allocation, task prioritization, and client management.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.4 Project Manager’s Tools
9.4.2 Team Task Management

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Team Task Management System
Step 1: Manage Employee Tasks
1. Go to the Employee Tab and select an employee to manage their tasks.
2. Use the Task Entry feature to enter task details, status, priority, deadlines, and notes.
3. View the Mini Dashboard to get a quick overview of the employee’s task status and deadlines.
4. Use Performance Monitoring to track workload and performance, and provide targeted support.

Step 2: Analyze Employee Performance
1. Use the Performance Insights feature to view task distribution across priority levels per employee performance.
2. View Open Tasks Tracking to monitor employee workload and identify potential bottlenecks.
3. Analyze Completed Task Analysis to assess productivity and recognize employee achievements.

Step 3: Visualize Task Timeline
1. Go to the Gantt Chart Tab to visualize task timelines and dependencies.
2. Use the Filters feature to view specific employees or departments for focused analysis.
3. Choose the Start Date Selection feature to select the starting date for project planning.

Step 4: Monitor and Adjust
1. Continuously monitor team performance and task progress using the Dashboard and Employee Tab.
2. Adjust task assignments, deadlines, and priorities as needed to ensure project success.
3. Use the insights gained from the Team Task Management system to optimize team productivity and performance.

Step 5: Access the Dashboard
1. Log in to the Team Task Management system and navigate to the Dashboard.
2. The Dashboard provides a holistic task overview, including task completion ratios, department breakdown, and custom filters.

Step 6: Analyze Team Performance
1. Use the Task Completion Ratios feature to gauge team efficiency and identify areas for improvement.
2. View the Department Breakdown to see task distribution across departments and allocate resources accordingly.
3. Apply Custom Filters to view data by employees, departments, or due dates.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.4 Project Manager’s Tools
9.4.3 Earned Value Management (EVM)

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Earned Value Management (EVM) Component
Step 1: Enter EVM Data
1. Go to the EVM Data Tables section and enter the specific Months to work with in the first row of the table.
2. Manually enter key EVM metrics for each month in EVM Data Table Part 1, including:
– Budget at Completion (BAC)
– Earned Value (EV)
– Actual Cost (AC)
– Planned Value (PV)

Step 2: Review Automated Computed Values
1. Review the automated computed values in EVM Data Table Part 2, including:
– Cost Variance (CV)
– Schedule Variance (SV)
– Cost Performance Index (CPI)
– Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
– Estimate To Completion (ETC)
– Estimate At Completion (EAC)
– Variance At Completion (VAC)
– Status based on Average Performance Index

Step 3: Analyze Project Performance
1. Go to the Project Performance Dashboard and review the comprehensive view of project performance, including key EVM metrics, charts, and graphs.
2. Use the dashboard to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions.

Step 4: Review Graphical Comparisons
1. Review the Earned Value Analysis graphical comparison between BAC, EV, AC, and PV to analyze project performance.
2. Analyze the Performance Index graphical comparison between CPI and SPI to track cost and schedule efficiency.
3. Review the Variance Analysis graphical comparison between CV, SV, and VAC to identify areas for improvement.
4. Examine the Estimate At Completion graphical comparison between BAC and EAC to forecast project costs.

Step 5: Take Action and Monitor Progress
1. Use the insights gained from the EVM component to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions.
2. Take corrective action to address any issues or variances identified.
3. Monitor progress and adjust plans as needed to ensure project success.

Step 6: Refine and Update
1. Regularly refine and update the EVM data to ensure accuracy and relevance.
2. Continuously review and analyze the EVM metrics and graphical comparisons to track project performance and identify areas for improvement.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.4 Project Manager’s Tools
9.4.4 Project Risk Tracker

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Project Risk Tracker
Step 1: Configure Settings
1. Go to the Settings section and define the categories of departments in the organization.
2. List the actual names of all employees in the organization to assign risk ownership and accountability.

Step 2: Identify and Log Risks
1. Go to the Risk Register section and use the Quick Risk Identification & Logging feature to rapidly identify and document potential risks.
2. Enter risk details, including description, potential impact, and likelihood.
3. Assign clear ownership and accountability by designating specific individuals or teams responsible for managing each risk.

Step 3: Assess Risks
1. Go to the Risk Assessment section and analyze the severity and probability of each risk.
2. Use the Automated Scoring feature to prioritize risks based on their severity and probability.
3. Review and adjust the risk scores as needed to ensure accurate prioritization.

Step 4: Track Risks
1. Go to the Risk Tracking section and track risks based on their status, mitigation actions, and effectiveness.
2. Monitor the progress of risk mitigation actions and adjust as needed.
3. Use the risk tracking feature to identify potential issues before they become major problems.

Step 5: Visualize Risk Trends
1. Go to the Dashboards section and visualize risk trends, status, and progress.
2. Use the dashboard to get a holistic view of project risks and identify areas for improvement.
3. Monitor risk trends and adjust risk management strategies as needed.

Step 6: Review and Refine
1. Regularly review and refine the risk management process to ensure it remains effective.
2. Update risk assessments and mitigation actions as needed to reflect changes in the project or organization.
3. Use the insights gained from the Project Risk Tracker to proactively manage risks and ensure project success.

9. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
9.5 Valuations & IPCs

9.5.1 Main IPCs:
Step 1: Introductory setup: Enter project details, including:

• Project Title
  • Client/Employer
  • Consultant
  • Contractor
  • Contract Sum
  • Contract Number
  • Commencement Date
  • Completion Date

Step 2: IPC Preparation: Click to open an IPC template and link relevant files to the summary sheet, including:

• Valuation (Amount of Contractor’s Work)
  • Variation
  • Materials (on Site / Transit)
  • Fluctuations

Step 3: Automated Computation: The system generates a complete IPC, calculating the amount due to the contractor with minimal manual input required.

This process streamlines the creation of IPCs, reducing administrative burdens and improving accuracy.

9.5.2 Subcons IPCs:

10. STORE